Analysis of Information Structure and Contents on the Web Sites for Catering Services

ABSTRACT

This study examined the structure and contents of the information provided by the web sites, in terms of clarity, business goal, authority, sustainment of operation and responsibility of customer care, as well as menus. The findings from the analysis of 217 web sites selected from 5 major portal sites, are 1) most of catering business over internet are located around Seoul area, 2) almost 80% of the selected sites are administered by professional agents or firms while the remnants by individuals, 3) except menu and price, any additional information is hardly shown, 4) about three quarter of the sites opened after 2001, that is coherent with the trend of the growth of internet users and eating-out, 5) it is strongly required to create healthful cyber space for the customers, 6) a small number of the sites(12.4%) try to manage access from customers, 7) many sites(73.7%) open the channels for feedback from the customers 8) among the types of catering services offered by the sites, home party is the most popular and the kinds of cuisine, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, are divided into almost same proportion of the sites, 9) the average number of dishes is 33.5, 10) they offer 7 to 8 different dishes of grain, 4 to 6 of meat, 4 to 10 of fishes, 5 to 13 of vegetables, 1 of fruits, and 1 to 3 of dairy products, 11) The majority of price level is 15,001won ~ 20,000won.